Trivandrum
the capital of the State of Kerala
is a beautiful sea side city built
on seven hills. Trivandrum the shorter
from for Thiruvananthapuram.
(Thiruvananthapuram) means that
abode of sacred serpent Ananta on
which reclines God vishnu (also
called Sri Padmanabha) to whom is
also dedicated the Sri Padmanbhaswami
Temple, known as Ananthasayanam
in ancient days it has been a scred
place of the Hindus. In 1750, it
became the capital of Travancore
state to Sri Padmanabha, when Raja
Marthanda Varma shifted Royal seat
from Padmanabhapuram to Trivandrum.
To expite the sins of his many wars,
the king dedicated the whole state
to Sri Padmanabha.
The Kerala official language of
the state is Malayalam but English
too is widely spoken and understood.
Although many travelers may overlook
Trivandrum on their way to the balmy
beaches of Kovalum or the backwater
of Alleppey., Kerala's state capital
merits a closer look. Speckled with
parks, places, monuments and museums,
it is a good place to gain some
insight into kerala's culture. Trivandrum
had already been the capital of
Travancore for two centuries when
the city became the capital of Kerala
in 1956, and today it retains trademark
red-tiled, pagoda's roofed housesthat
are common throughout the state.
The city differetiates itself with
its endlessly interwined streets,
beautiful gardens, and a museum
complex housing several exhibits
of both master opuses and mysterious
oddities. The city's Malayalum name
refers to Anantha, the serpent that
holds the reclining Lord Vishnu(Lord
Padmanabha) in the Shree Padmanabha
Swami Temple-- a major draw for
Indian tourists. A welcome and edifying
break from beach - hoping, Trivandrum
is a good place to begin or end
any South Indian trip.
How To Reach :
Airport:
Trivandrum is an international airport.
Airlines operates flights important
cities.
Rail:
Trivandrum is connected by Rail
with many cities.
Road:
Trivandrum is connected by Road
with so many centersin India. Trivandrum
448 kms from Calicut, 223 kms from
Cochin, 156 kms from Alleppy, 240
kms from Alweye, 538 kms from cannanore,
417 kms from Maduri, 73 kms from
Quilon, 81 kms from Kottayam, 87
kms from Kanyakumari, 420 kms from
Coimbatore.
Orientation :
The stress triangle
over 74 Km of coastal hills, but is
easy if you stick to the few main roads.
The north-south MG Road dumps all its
traffic onto museum Road, at the north
end of town. To the south, MG Road cruises
downhills to a hectic intersection with
the city's other main drag, (Central)
station Road. one hundred meters east
on station Road from MG Road, the long
distance KSRTC bus station is on the
left, opposite the railway station.
MG Road becomes overbridge when it heads
south over the railway tracks to the
east fort area. A great white gate marks
the entrance to Shree Padmanabha Swamy
Temple, opposite the local bus stand.
behind the stand, Chalai Bazaar Road
leads east through the bazaar.
Sight Seeing
In Trivandrum:
Sri
Anantha Padmanabha Awamy Temple:The ancient Temple is the
most dominating the padma Theertham
tank, the temple is devoted to lord
Vishnu. The temple was rebuilt by
Raja Marthanda Varma in 1733 AD
This architecture piece of superb
carftmanship, occupying a spacious
7 acre lands lies on the elevated
part of the city. Surrounded by
massive parkers with a tall 100
feet high 7 – storeyed tower of
Pyramidal shape in faces the east
and has a flight of board stone
steps to reach the sannidhi. We
enter the broad open oblong corridor
supported by 323 pillars. Called
the walk of the God’s procession.
The pillars and the celling are
fittingly beautiful with excellent
scriptures. The grand 80 foot high
circular golden flagstaff laying
at the image of Garuda. There are
seneral mini shrines dedecated to
aborable gods and goddesses, Vyasa,
Kshetrapala, Rama, Lakshmana, Sita,
etc.
Nepier
Museum:One of the most attractive
structures in Trivandrum is the
Napier Museum. It was in 1847 that
the then Maharaja of Travancore,
Major General Cullen the British
Resident and Dr. J.A.Brown. F.R.S.
organizing the Museum, was followed
soon by laying out of a zoo and
a garden around the Museum premisesin
1847, the original building that
housed the Museum was pulled down
and a new building was completed
in 1880 called “the Napier Museum
in commemoration of the Governorship
of Lord Napier of the Madras State”.
A Colourful turreted edifice standing
on the erest of the popular public
gardens near the Observatory Hill.It
has a good collection of brozer,
Sculptures models and Zoological
Spescimens. A300 Year old Temple
car a cluster of Rare musical insturuments
of various perods and Regions, vivid
model of a nair Joint family Thadrwada
House
Sri
Chitra Art Gallery:Situated in the Compound
of the Museum. It house a rich and
representative collection of paintings
of the various Indian and East Asian
Schools. The former includes a large
collection of Raja Ravi Varma’s
and Rourich paintings and copies
of Kerala’s exquaisite murals paintings
of the Rajput Mughal and Tanjore.
The gallery also has a fine collection
of miniature paintings from China,
Japan, Tibet, Java and Bali.
Botanical
And Zoological Gardens:
Near Napier Museum. Established
in 1850 AD. The Zoo contains a large
collection of animals from India
and broad.The sprawling Botanical
gardens contains many exotic trees
and anexcellent lake which forms
a part of the Zoo.
Observatory:
Situated on a hill facing
Kanakakunnu palace. The observatory
and the oriental manuscript library.
The library has a large collection
of ancient palam leaf manuscripts
(70000 palam leaft) Established
in 1837 AD.
Kowdiyar Palace:The palace is the residence
of former Maharaja.
Kanakakunnu Palace:The palace is now government
building.
Sankumukhan Beach:Located near the airport
(Mascot Hotel). The water here however
is not suitable for bathing.
Veli
Tourist Village:Situated near the Thiruvananthapuram
airport will give the visitor a
genral idea of the famous back waters
of Kerala . Apart from the boat
club at veli, there are a large
number of institutions, Swimming,
Rifle shooting and Cricket.
Children’s Museum: Located
at Thyland, Trivendrum Railway Station.
Science & Technology Museum:Located in the heart of
the city (Near Mascot Hotel). The
Museum exhibits scores of items
highilighting science, technology
and clectronics.
Dance An
Theater:
Margi:
Follow MG Rd. south over the
train tracks, turn right at the corner
temple, and walk 10 min. into West Fort.
When the street comes to a final "T",
turn right. MARGI is behind Fort High
School on your left- look for the big
banyan tree. Look for the image of a
dancer on the sign. This school at West
Fort occasionally performs
Kathakali Dance Drama and Kuttiyatam
Theater (Keralan martial arts) in the
evenings. Performances are free, but
they are not regularly scheduled and
often take place in local temples.
Festivals:
The Attukal Bhagavathy
Temple, 2km south of East Fort, holds
the Festival of Attukal Pongala in late
February or early March, corresponding
to the day of Makom star. Thousands
of women converge on Trivandrum during
this time, each one setting up a miniature
kitchen on the streets in the center
of town. The women offer pongala, a
sweet rice porridge, considered the
center of town. The women offer
pongala, a sweet rice porridge,
considered the goddess's favorite food,
which they cook in earthenware pots
over sanctified fires from the temple.
Men are permitted in the vicinity of
the temple during the festival. Trivandrum's
center is closed to traffic and takes
on an uncharacteristically peaceful
air as the smoke from thousands of cooling
fires drifts up into the heavens. The
Swati Music Festival
(late Jan. - early Feb.) brings performances,
takes place during the last week of
February.
Back
Observatory:
Situated on a hill facing
Kanakakunnu palace. The observatory
and the oriental manuscript library.
The library has a large collection
of ancient palam leaf manuscripts
(70000 palam leaft) Established
in 1837 AD.